Medisave: A Blend of Government funded healthcare in a privately controlled fund

Medisave: A Blend of Government funded healthcare in a privately controlled fund

Much of today’s debate about healthcare reform revolves around two distinctly differing viewpoints. On one side we have the call for a government takeover of the present system, with new insurance mandates, continued insurance management and regulation, and higher taxes. On the other side we have the call for an end to government regulation, an opening up of the free market, and the end of the insurance industry's undue authority and oppressive control over healthcare processes, without any new taxes.

Is there a way to bring the two sides together?

Let’s look at some numbers:

Estimated population of the United States is 300 million.

Estimated direct government contribution to healthcare spending in 840 billion dollars.

That is about $2,800 a year per person.

Is there a way to spend that money more efficiently?

Here is my proposal:

Individually owned Medisave accounts for all United States citizens from birth.
With no added taxes from the government, the $2,800 can be used to purchase a catastrophic high deductible insurance policy that would also cover the first $500-1,000 per year of preventive coverage for well exams, Pap smears, childhood vaccines, etc.
These Medisave accounts would be individually owned and controlled and could be managed by banks or other brokerage service centers. To cover the costs of the deductible, patients and employers could voluntarily contribute to the accounts. For the unemployed, there could be more charity care and other tax deductible accounts set up. Means testing would also be on the table for those truly in need. Any money remaining in the Medisave accounts at the end of the year would roll over for the following year.
Hopefully money would be saved in these accounts to fully cover any future year deductible. Family members can use a portion of their excess Medisave dollars for other family members or for charity to others in need.

The Medisave accounts would be paid for by the same taxes present today. However these monies would need to be separated from the government’s general fund to avoid having any of the funds spent on other programs. With the accounts controlled by individuals, it would bring an end to government lobbyists and special interests.

Tort reform would also need to be enacted to lower the costs of defensive medicine. A fair system is beyond the scope of this article.

Lets look at the positives of this plan:

1) Lowers employer costs greatly. Employees could get more in salary as a result. Also insurance is fully portable, and not dependent on employment, only upon citizenship. Non-citizens can buy into the plan at much lower costs than today’s insurance premiums.
2) Ends Medicare and Medicaid and all the government regulations and price controls and replaces them with individually controlled and owned policies.
3) No price controls. The free market would set the costs. Competition would open up and be fierce to increase innovation and decrease costs. Look at all the mini-clinics opening up as lower cost alternatives as an example of true free market competition.
4) Citizens can opt out of the plan, but what would be the advantage?
5) If individuals want to buy a Medigap policy for their deductibles, they may buy one on the open market.
6) Insurance companies would stay in business but would have to change they way they operate. They would no longer be in the business of healthcare, but back solely in the business of insurance.

This proposal would cover every United States Citizen and be funded by the government in the form of Medisave withholding deductions from paychecks. This would replace the Medicare withholding. The percentage needed can be calculated by a group of budget economists. It would be budget neutral as no new funds would be needed.

Medicare and Medicaid would end along with the regulations. Patients would have open access to any doctor or health care provider they choose in the free market. Payment would be direct from their Medisave accounts at the time of service or as agreed upon between patient and the doctor or provider. There would be no third party involved to increase costs or intrude upon the doctor-patient relationship. And most importantly, those with medical expertise and genuine interest in our patients' health will once again have absolute control.

An Open Letter from America's Physicians

Dr Steven Horvitz- Reading between the lines: Healthcare Information you can trust!

In the first half of 2008, I have been involved in a grass roots campaign with other doctor's across the nation whose goal is to reform the healthcare system and to restore the doctor-patient relationship to make healthcare once again affordable for all. Written below is a letter that I helped to create along with six other doctors. We are presently acquiring physician signatures so that we can present our thoughts on the problems that face our healthcare system and how we can best solve them.

We presently have over 3,200 physician signatures with more each and every day.

I ask for your opinions on healthcare today and on the letter as it is written. The physician community truly wants to partner with the American public to create and better system.

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An Open Letter from America's Physicians

Dear Fellow Americans,

For decades the United States has led the world in healthcare. We have enjoyed the finest hospitals, medical schools, research, technology, and resources. Unfortunately, our healthcare system has lost focus to the point where patient well-being is placed after politics, profits, and special interests. Healthcare costs are on the rise and patients have lost their freedom of choice. These trends are hurting our economy and compromising the doctor-patient relationship. As a result, it has become difficult for physicians to deliver the best possible care.

Our heavily fragmented healthcare system has made it very difficult for you, the American public, to get the care you need. As your physicians, we want to partner with you to address the critical defects of the system as outlined below:

• You are paying a lot for healthcare and not receiving enough in return. Your insurance premiums continue to increase while your healthcare options are dwindling. Gatekeepers, insurance networks, and restrictive regulations limit your choice of doctors and your access to care.

• You have been made dependent on complicated and expensive health insurance plans. Employers are forced to take money out of your paycheck to purchase health coverage. If you lose your job, you are left with no safety net and the money you have paid for health coverage vanishes.

• The time you spend with your physician has become remarkably brief due to regulatory hurdles requiring doctors to spend more time on documentation than with you.

We believe the following factors have made our current healthcare system unsustainable:

• The insurance industry's undue authority and oppressive control over healthcare processes

• Excessive and misguided government regulation

• The practice of defensive medicine in response to a harmful and costly legal environment

We, the physicians of the United States, will no longer remain silent. We will not tolerate a healthcare system where those without medical expertise or genuine interest in our patients' health have absolute control. This letter is merely a summary of the most important problems in our current system. We believe that by partnering with the public we can start to demand real change and formulate practical solutions.

We invite you, our patients, friends, neighbors, and employers to unite with us at this important time in the history of healthcare in the United States. Together, we can guarantee our nation a healthier tomorrow.

Please talk to your doctor about this letter and visit http://www.sermo.com/doctor... for more information.

Respectfully,

The Undersigned U.S. Physicians